San Antonio filmmaker's short film in line for Oscar consideration

By Kiko Martinez, Contributing Writer :
January 20, 2014

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http://latinofilm.org/festival/?p=3176

This year's Oscar nominees have received all the buzz lately, but San Antonio-born filmmaker Steve Acevedo's thoughts are sure to be on next year's top prize.

Late last year, Acevedo's short film “El cocodrilo” (“The Crocodile”) was named the Best Short Film at the 2013 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. LALIFF is an Academy Award-qualifying festival, which makes “El cocodrilo” eligible for an Oscar nomination in 2015.

“When we won, I felt we were finally getting some credit from the festival world,” said Acevedo, 35, who is a graduate of Keystone School and St. Mary's University. “It felt really good to be recognized by the Latino film community in L.A.”

In 2008, after executives saw his previous short film “Shot,” Acevedo was selected by ABC and the Directors Guild of America to participate in a directing fellowship, which had him move to L.A. for a year. Another L.A.-based fellowship with NBC followed, but Acevedo was not offered a directing gig by either studio. L.A., however, was the place he wanted to be. He didn't allow the setback to discourage him.

“I was in a new city and all of a sudden I was back to square one,” said Acevedo, who also earned his MFA at Florida State University where his thesis was in cinematography. “I had to make a living somehow, so I went back to my camera work.”

Two years later, Acevedo had proven he could survive in L.A. as a commercial cinematographer. It was at this time when his appetite to direct started to reemerge.

“I started realizing that all my momentum as a film director was gone,” said Acevedo. “I was really itching to do something.”

Acevedo's opportunity came when screenwriter and executive producer Alfredo Barrios Jr. (TV's “Burn Notice”) told him about a story actor Jacob Vargas (“Traffic”) wanted to adapt into a film. The narrative followed a Mexican journalist seeking political asylum in the U.S. for himself and his young son when a drug cartel puts a hit on him for an article he wrote. In the film, actor Manuel Uriza plays a police captain trying to get Vargas' character to reveal his sources.

Uriza says Acevedo was a class act on the set.

“I was taken back at Steve's ability to always be so clear on what he expected from me, but at the same time so open to see what I had to say once he called 'action,'” Uriza said. “He was stern on what his concept was and dug deep into my own creative process to complement his vision.”

Also impressed with Acevedo's professionalism was producer Woody Andrews, who complimented him for knowing exactly what he wanted to convey on screen.

“He has a great eye,” said Andrews. “He takes actors through the back alleys of the conventional, but when you see the end result, it all makes sense. I think 'El cocodrilo,' along with bigger and deeper projects, will bring a level of truth to his stories that will be a force in the industry.”

In January 2012, with $10,000 budget and a small cast and crew, which included Vargas in the lead role, Acevedo shot “El cocodrilo” in two days in L.A. and Long Beach. He said he felt a lot was riding on the movie.

“I made 'El cocodrilo' essentially to try to get back on producers' radars,” Acevedo said. “The film has done that and more. It's all worth it when you get to do projects you're proud of. Now, I'm at a point where I just have to keep going.”